The thing that comes to piss us off during weight loss efforts. When what works doesn’t work anymore.
I heard a great analogy recently that the body is neither a calculator nor a chemistry set. That’s actually true. It’s partly both.
But there’s a 3rd element too and that’s bio individuality. The bit that makes you YOU. Your unique hormonal and metabolic profile. Your physiology and your immune tolerance.
Finding what works can take some playing and tweaking so all 3 things have to be juggled when helping someone find their thang. And sometimes a few tricks too - it's an art and a science.
For most people it’s a winding journey to metabolic health, not a straight path in one direction cos otherwise we’d all already ‘be there’ right?
What we want to avoid though is METABOLIC COMPENSATION - where the metabolism pushes back at what you’re trying to do to it!
Some structured flexibility can save the day. Let’s call it…INCONSISTENCY!
Apparently it’s a deal breaker on social media but let me tell you why it’s GREAT for the body.
And yes, this goes against my ‘patience and consistency’ riff and previous blog post. I'm the first to say that could be confusing so I’ll explain why variance and inconsistency can be what moves the needle for you if you're stuck in a bit of a plateau.
Our body adapts to EVERYTHING we do.
To use an exercise example, if all we ever do is run long distances (truth bomb -> especially if we have a secret desire to be losing weight from doing that) we get super-efficient at running long distances and more calorically efficient at it too.
Weight loss will literally just grind to a halt and you'll be left exhausted trying to run more and more and more.
Our bodies actually respond well to surprises and variance - in training and in nutrition. We want to avoid compensation and adaptation. That's why we say to mix it up with your movement styles!
Lift heavy things. Sprint once in a while (this includes HIIT style training). Move long distances slowly and frequently, for example #justfuckingwalk (sorry Mum).
Evolutionarily, that combo is perfectly aligned with what creates and maintains an optimum human.
And it's actually also why the concept of a 'free meal' can sometimes be beneficial as opposed to detrimental. (Note that's free MEAL, not 5 x free meals)
We were designed for, and naturally experienced, times of feast and famine.
Feasting WHEN IT WAS POSSIBLE was tolerated beautifully by the body, as was Fasting when that's what circumstances and nature required. A little different these days where food is endlessly available and fasting has become a fashionable thing we feel we should incorporate deliberately for health reasons.
Nutrition tips to help combat metabolic compensation:
· If you try and fast every morning, eat breakfast sometimes (you will not get fat).
· If you're always 'keto', eat some bloody carbs sometimes (it's an awesome hormone boost and that's what the metabolic flexibility you've built is FOR).
· If you're constantly in a big calorie deficit, have a re-feed day (your body is only gonna down-regulate your metabolism otherwise).
· If you always try and eat a specific number of calories each day regardless of hunger or activity, try listening to your body every so often and eat when hunger shows up naturally in portions that fill you, not stuff you (this is intuitive eating).
There's more of course! Bringing output into the equation along with input, we can look at coupling periods of moving more with eating more, moving more with eating less, moving less with eating more, and moving less with eating less!
Interesting concept? See if it moves the needle for you.
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